4 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on His law day and night.”
Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV)
Sports have always been a big part of my life. I’ve always been involved in some type of organized activity. Even now, years after my collegiate competitive days, my current sport of choice is slow pitch softball. Our season just started and the other night as I was rounding the bases, I thought, “Oh man am I out of shape!”
I’m not on the track for two to three hours every day with another hour spent in the weight room anymore. I think it’s comical, but sometimes I label a walk as a workout just so I can say I got a workout in that day. I’ve noticed that as the level of my activity decreases, the harder it is to increase my level of activity. Then when I need to zip around the bases at a game, I’m not ready.
There is a digression in the first verse of this Psalm: walk to stand to sit. Each verb requires less and less activity until there is hardly any energy needed. It is easy to treat our spiritual life the same way. We can get lazy in our spiritual workouts. We can get fired up and then slowly, over time and without realizing it, go from competitor to mere spectator.
Let’s take the laziness out of these verses. When we do that, it says, “Blessed are those … who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on His law day and night.” Athlete, every day you need to get a spiritual workout in, whether it’s meditating on God’s Word (Psalm 1:2), sharpening yourself with other believers (Proverbs 27:17), having extended times of prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17) or various other spiritual disciplines. We need to be active in our faith so when game day comes, we’re not out of shape, but ready to round those bases.
Prayer to consider today: Lord, I want to be ready for whatever You are calling me to. I don’t want to sit on the bench, so I need to be ready. Help me to stay active and not get lazy. Thank You for the people in my life who challenge me and for the people in my life whom I can challenge.
Reflect: How do you keep up your spiritual fitness?
Challenge: Choose a spiritual discipline to focus on this week and see what God teaches you through that. Some spiritual disciplines are: solitude, fasting, prayer, journaling, Bible study and meditation, confession, fellowship with other Christians, worship and celebration.]
Outreach Challenge: I’m learning that the best way to minister to people in my community is to understand my community. This week, be a student of the place where you are located. What is important to the city you live in? What is the history of the area? Have they faced any natural disasters and how did they (or did they) bounce back from that?
